I don't play Warhammer 40k. There are many reasons why, despite working for a website literally called 'Wargamer', I've avoided it. But damn, do those new Adeptus Custodes models look cool. The fierce brows, mighty mohawks, and glorious golden armor mark the first time that I've seriously wanted to join in with the wargame. And it's 100% because they're women.
Warhammer 40k is many things, but at its most obvious, it's a power fantasy. When you ignore its more satirical elements, it's a setting where you play-act as one of the most powerful creatures in the galaxy, a literally perfect superhuman. It's also an overwhelmingly male power fantasy, where your muscles are enormous, your emotions are surgically removed, and the only real relationships that matter are ones of brotherhood.
That's fine, no complaints from me there. Women can enjoy a good old-fashioned power fantasy as much as the next gender. Plenty of us enjoy having muscles and killing Tyranids, too. It is a little offputting when that fantasy's most important factions have a literal sign out front that say 'no girls allowed'.
But I'm not here to reopen the 'why can't women be Space Marines' argument. There are plenty of Warhammer veterans that have discussed this at length, some right here on Wargamer. What I'm trying to do is explain the feeling I got when I looked those Adeptus Custodes girls in the eye.
I saw myself. Or, at least, I saw who I wish I could be. Someone of immense power and potential. Someone bold and assertive in an over-the-top outfit. Someone who can do all that without compromising on anything - especially their femininity. Suddenly, I understood the Warhammer power fantasy in a way I never had before. I couldn't relate to the scifi setting's extreme performances of masculinity before, but now, I've found a way in.
I don't play Warhammer 40k. But, suddenly, I really want to.
Some of you might be asking 'Why now? The Sisters of Battle have been around for years'. They sure have, but that's not what my power fantasy looks like.
If your typical Space Marine is an extreme performance of maleness, the Adepta Sororitas are an extreme performance of femininity. I'm even tempted to throw the term 'male gaze' into the mix. These are warriors whose armor shows off their curves and thighs. They have stereotypical 'boob armor', where each breast is highlighted in highly impractical plate. Under the helmets, everyone seems to be wearing impeccable makeup.
I'm glad the Sisters of Battle exist. For some women, fighting while looking fabulous is the ultimate power fantasy. But it isn't for me. That's because women, who make up almost half of the world's population, are not a monolith. We're not a hive mind plotting society's downfall in secret, we promise.
There is a famous Arthurian ballad called The Marriage of Sir Gawain that I want to tell you. One Christmas, King Arthur avoids a deadly duel with a baron by agreeing to return to his castle on the following New Year and answer a riddle. The riddle he must spend a year pondering is 'What do women want?'
New Year approaches, and Arthur has no idea. Fortunately, he meets an old woman on his way back to the baron. The crone offers him the answer in exchange for a husband - the titular Sir Gawain.
When Arthur meets the baron again, he tells him, correctly, what women want. "A woman will have her will, and this is all her chief desire". Basically, all women want is the chance to choose.
Some women want glamour, even if that means wearing boob armor. Personally, I want a woman who looks like she roars when she fires her Guardian Spear. I want heavy, bulky armor that can clearly take a hit, with the stompiest boots possible to match. I want shaved heads and mohawks, because, hey, I have those in real life.
The new Adeptus Custodes models aren't just giving me a cool female miniature range. They are giving me choice. I'm no longer segregated in the world of Warhammer, forced to pick a single army if I want to play with toys that look like me. Hell, with these new models, you can even choose how many of your Custodes are girls, from gender diverse troops to an all-out feminist army.
Let's talk a little more about why I'm so desperate to see myself in Warhammer. You'll have heard the phrase 'representation matters' thrown around plenty in the past decade. It might feel like a tired buzz phrase by now, but it's true. When I walk into a wargaming club and see no female figures on - or around - the table, I'm on guard from the get-go. However polite the men rolling dice at their tables might be, it sends a subtle, silent message: you do not belong here.
A room with no women in it is more likely to hold space for sexist ideas. It's more likely to be a space where I have to fight, not on the miniature battlefield, but to justify my presence. I'm expecting to be patronized, belittled, sexualized, or simply made to feel awkward. It's not guaranteed to happen, but it's absolutely happened before.
Every time I give a group like this the benefit of the doubt, I'm choosing vulnerability. I'm exposing my metaphorical underbelly, allowing others the chance to inflict embarrassment, shame, harm. Suddenly, I'm a child again, trying desperately to edge my way into a friendship group who has already decided that they don't want me. Doing this several times over takes more of a mental toll than you might think.
So, like many women, I walk away. Fearing what I might lose, I simply choose not to play.
There is a tremendous amount of work to be done if we want to remove the Otherness of women (and many other marginalized peoples, for that matter) from wargaming circles. I'm not naive enough to think that wider consumer choice is a strong enough balm to fix this. But it sure as hell is a good first step to inviting more women in.
Unlike the Sisters of Battle, women of the Adeptus Custodes fight side-by-side with transhuman men of equal, incredible power. Sisterhood and brotherhood in the world of Warhammer no longer seem to be a gulf apart. That's the energy I want to see taken to the wargaming club. Women are not a separate group to be held at a wary distance, but welcomed into the fray.
I don't play Warhammer 40k. But maybe that's about to change.
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